Vehicle mounted augmented reality head up display (AR‐HUD) helps in focusing a driver's attention on traffic surroundings. We have developed a dual depth windshield type HUD prototype containing an AR image and a common one. The throw distance of the AR image is 7.5m, with a FOV of 10°×5°, while, the throw distance of the common one is 2.5m, with a FOV of 5°×1°. Two 5 inch LCD panel are used as the picture generate unit. Off‐axis reflective optical system including a freeform mirror is applied to realize dual depth display in a common light path. A special apodization back light module is designed to meet the demands of the high luminance illumination. The test result shows the main parameters of the prototype meet the design requirement.